Nevada King drills decades-high gold assay at old Atlanta project

Nevada King Gold (TSXV: NKG; US-OTC: NKGFF) says assay results show the highest-grade intercept in almost 50 years at the past-producing Atlanta mine in southeast Nevada.  

Reverse-circulation drill hole AT23WS-022 cut 42.8 metres grading 5.64 grams gold per tonne and 6.7 grams silver from 288 metres downhole, including 7.6 metres at 28.5 grams gold, the company said in a news release on Thursday.  

This hole located 290 metres northeast of the Atlanta pit “represents the highest-grade gold intercept exceeding 1.52 metres in length on the entire Atlanta property going back to the 1970s,” exploration manager Cal Herron said in the release. “How many more high-grade structures will we find at Atlanta that no one knew about?” 

The Atlanta mine in the state’s Battle Mountain Trend, 264 km northeast of Las Vegas, produced 110,000 oz. of gold and 800,000 oz. of silver between 1975 and 1985. A 2020 estimate pegged measured and indicated resources at 11 million tonnes grading 1.3 grams gold per tonne for 460,000 ounces. Inferred resources add 5.3 million tonnes grading 0.83 gram gold for 142,000 ounces. 

Vancouver-based Nevada King drilled nearly 14,000 metres last year at the project and plans to hit a total of 30,000 metres by June on the 51.6-sq.-km site. More than 40,000 metres was drilled by Gold Fields (NYSE: GFI), Kinross Gold (TSX: K; NYSE: KGC) and Meadow Bay Gold starting in the early 1990s. 

“With metallurgical test work well underway and our drilling progressing nicely, a second-quarter 2024 resource update could be in the cards,” Nevada King founder and CEO Collin Kettell said in an emailed reply to questions. “It will incorporate quite a bit more drilling and we may push it back if zones continue to remain open.”

Thursday’s release of assays was from holes drilled north of the Atlanta pit to test the grade and thickness of mineralized blocks in the Atlanta Mine Fault zone and the West Atlanta Graben moving northward toward the North Extension Target zone. Drill hole AT23WS-020 cut 61.1 metres grading 3.04 grams gold and 21.4 grams silver including 4.6 metres at 15.84 grams gold and 19.8 grams silver.  

“This suggests that historic drill intercepts within the West Atlanta Graben failed to accurately reflect true thickness and grade,” Herron said. “This comparison illustrates the need for tightly spaced holes that thoroughly penetrate the mineralized zones, and also highlights the differences in grade and thickness being encountered by Nevada King compared to many holes reported by prior operators.  

Drilling at the former Atlanta mine in Nevada, which produced 110,000 oz. of gold and 800,000 oz. of silver between 1975 and 1985. Credit: Nevada King

“We continue to see good continuity of mineralization over an area approximately 360 metres long in a north-south direction and at least 150 metres wide within the portion of the West Atlanta Graben drilled so far. Several historical holes suggest this mineralization extends further to the west and north from the area drilled to date.” 

Nevada King began acquiring properties along the Battle Mountain Trend in 2016 and now holds 10,315 claims over 834.9 sq. km, making it the third largest mineral hard rock claim holder in Nevada behind Kinross and Nevada Gold Mines, a joint venture of Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) and Newmont Gold (TSX: NGT; NYSE: NEM). 

Nevada King’s holdings include the Lewis property beside Nevada Gold Mines’ Hilltop deposit, the Horse Mountain-Mill Creek project adjoining a Nevada Gold Mines exploration project, and the Iron Point property where the Battle Mountain-Cortez and Getchell-Twin Creeks gold trends intersect.  

Shares in Nevada King rose 3.5% in Thursday afternoon trading to 44¢ apiece, within a 52-week range of 26¢ to 51¢, valuing the company at $123.4 million.